w^  i 


^T^-^C 


GENTENNIAL  ANNIVERSARY 


CALDWELL,  N.  J. 


g      !' 


^ .  /o 


^'"^ 


x^ 


^i  X\\t  ^¥oiagirui  ^ 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


^«/. 


^^. 


^^J 


If 


BX    8949    .M46    1885 

First  Presbyterian  Church 

(Caldwell,  N.J. ) 
Memorial  exercises  on  the 

nnr.asion  of  the  Centennial 


MEMORIAL  EXERCISES 


ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE 


Centennial  Anniversary 


First -t-Presbyteriaii-t-fc^ 


OF  CALDWELL,  N.  J., 


Wednesday,  December  3,  1884. 


PUBLISHED  AT  THE  REQUEST  OF  THE  CITIZENS  OF  CALDWELL. 


NEWARK,  N.  J. 

Press  of  Advi:ktiser  Printing  House, 

1885. 


Tlie  Sgnification  and  Purpose  of  fecred  Memorials, 
A  DISCOURSE 

(abridged) 

ON  THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  CENTENNIAL  ANNIVERSARY  OP 
THE    CALDWELL    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH. 

BY    THE    PASTOK, 

REV.    C.    T.    BERRY. 


DISCOURSE. 


.  .  "  When  your  children  ask  their  fathers  in  time  to  come,  saying, 
What  mean  ye  by  these  stones?  Then  ye  shall  answer  them.  That  the 
waters  of  Jordan  were  cut  ofE  before  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the 
Lord;  when  it  passed  over  Jordan,  the  waters  of  Jordan  were  cut  off: 
and  these  stones  shall  be  for  a  memorial  unto  the  children  of  Israel  for 
ever.  For  the  Lord  your  God  dried  up  the  waters  of  Jordan  from  before  you, 
until  ye  were  passed  over,  as  the  Lord  your  God  did  to  the  Red  Sea, 
which  he  dried  up  from  before  us,  until  'we  were  gone  over.  That  all 
the  people  of  the  earth  might  know  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  that  it  is 
mighty:  that  ye  might  fear  the  Lord  your  God  for  eyer.— Joshua  IV. 
6,  7,  23,  24. 

IF  it  had  not  already  been  done,  I  should  embrace  the 
splendid  opportunity  which  this  centennial  anniversary 
furnishes,  to  bring  before  you  the  fullest  history  of  this 
church  which  can  now  be  written. 

Fourteen  years  ago  it  was  my  privilege  to  present  you  with 
the  record  of  eighty-six  years  of  the  now  completed  century 
of  your  ecclesiastical  life. 

In  the  absence,  therefore,  of  necessity  to  review  again  in 
detail  the  items  of  our  church's  history,  I  have  found  what 
appears  to  me  a  suitable  theme  for  this  interesting  occasion 
in  the  text  announced. 

As  the  reading  of  the  Scripture  lesson  placed  before  us  the 
connection  of  these  words,  we  may  turn  directly  to  the  subject 
which  they  suggest,  viz.:  The  Signification  and  Purpose  of 
Sacred  Memorials. 

The  divine  wisdom  plainly  appears  in  this  command   to 
observe  a  then  already  customary  form  of  commemoration. 
It  met  that  human  weakness  through  which  it  happens  that 
the   most   sacred  impressions   are   prone  to  die.     Moreover 
it  harmonized  with  God's  usual  methods  hitherto.     His  bow 


6 

m  the  cloud  was  intended  as  a  sign  and  pledge  of  his  faith- 
fulness. The  Sabbath  was  ordained  to  quicken  in  men  the 
sense  of  their  divine  relations,  and  their  longing  for  the  "  rest 
that  remaineth."  So  the  passover  and  other  Icindred  feasts 
were  designed  for  memorials ;  and  whea  Christ  said  to  his 
disciples,  ''Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me,"  he  asserted  the 
very  same  principle.  Events,  the  most  illustrious  in  this 
care-and-pleasure-crowded  %vorld,  are  easily  forgotten. 

Man's  Creator  has  therefore  often  emphasized  the  need  of 
enshrining  their  remembrance  in  some  permanent  form,  and 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  example  before  us  has  entered  into 
the  traditions  and  practices  of  almost  every  nation  on  the 
face  of  the  earth. 

I.  I  remark,  in  the  first  place,  that  from  the  teaching  of 
the  Scriptures  it  seems  to  be  eminently  fitting  to  commem- 
orate in  some  expressive  form  the  good  things  God  has  done 
for  us. 

The  Old  Testament  is  crowded  with  the  proofs  of  this 
practice  ;  such  as  circumcision,  the  memorial  of  God's  cove- 
nant with  Abraham  ;  the  stone  set  up  at  Bethel,  the  mem- 
orial of  Jacob's  vision  ;  the  passover,  the  memorial  of  deliv- 
erance from  Egypt ;  the  Altar  at  Eephidim,  inscribed  "The 
Lord,  my  Banner  ; "  the  manna  jDreserved  in  the  Ark,  the 
memorial  of  Israel's  miraculous  food-supply  in  the  wilderness  ; 
the  Gideon  altar  at  Ophrah  ;  the  Ebenezer  stone  set  up  by 
Samuel,  the  memorial  of  victory  over  the  Philistines ;  the 
annual  feasts  in  commemoration  of  national  deliverances, 
such  as  the  feast  of  Purim,  the  memorial  of  the  Jews' 
escape  from  the  exterminating  designs  of  Haman.  And  that 
the  practice  is  not  foreign  to  the  New  Testament  is  evident 
from  the  sanction  which  our  Lord  lent  to  it  in  the  institution 
of  the  eucharist,  and  the  change  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  to 
the  Christian  Sunday,  the  weekly  memorial  of  Christ's  resur- 
rection. 

No  one,  certainly,  can  condemn  the  working  of  the  same 
principle  in  the  erection  of  memorial  churches,  and  other 


means  of  commemorating  God's  great  mercies,  or  the  lives  of 
good  men.  It  will  hardly  be  questioned  that  the  legiti- 
mate tendency  of  such  memorials  is  to  keep  alive,  if  not  to 
foster  the  spirit  of  piety  and  gratitude. 

It  is  of  particular  value  to  the  young,  as  we  see  even  under 
all  its  perversions  in  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  abstract 
facts  of  history  make  but  a  faint  impression  upon  the  young, 
while  a  stately  structure  or  a  towering  monument  attracts 
their  attention  at  once.  According  to  an  old  heathen  proverb, 
"  Things  received  through  the  avenue  of  hearing  impress  the 
mind  far  more  feebly  than  those  which  are  submitted  to  us 
through  the  medium  of  sight."  In  the  case  now  before  us 
the  twelve-stone  sign  was  to  be  a  stimulus  to  spiritual  appre- 
hension, and  a  help  to  faith.  Like  all  such  memorials  it  had 
a  two-fold  aspect.  While  it  was  to  keep  alive  precious  mem- 
ories, and  awaken  bright  anticipations,  it  linked  the  spiritual 
past  with  the  spiritual  future.  It  symbolized  that  there  was 
ever  over  successive  generations  the  same  God,  with  His  loving 
regard  and  delivering  power — that  past  experiences  of  grace 
were  pledges  of  unfailing  help  in  the  emergencies  yet  to  come. 
Is  it  not  an  inference,  absolutely  fair,  that  God  would  have 
us  take  special  measures  to  remember  our  mercies?  Do  we 
not  all  knoAv  right  well  that  our  disappointments  and  mis- 
fortunes need  no  memorial  stones,  while  the  memory  of  God's 
mercies  is  very  liable  to  be  overborne  by  the  persistent  clamor 
of  life's  ills?  Do  we  not  owe  it  to  ourselves  and  our  Divine 
benefactor  to  stimulate  our  souls,  to  "  Bless  the  Lord  and  for- 
get not  [any  of]  all  his  benefits?"  Should  we  not  cherish  such 
a  wholesome,  gracious  memory,  cultivating  it  like  the  garden 
of  the  liord ;  keeping  out  all  noisome  weeds  and  noxious 
growths,  that  the  flowers  of  devout  gratitude  and  joyful 
service  may  flourish  in  fullest  fragrance  and  beauty? 

If  we  are  to  ''keep  our  hearts  with  all  diligence,"  then  cer- 
tainly this  department  of  the  work  may  not  be  neglected. 

But  our  duty  does  not  rest  here.  Remembrance  for  our 
own  sakes  is  not  enough.     Just  as  the  memorial  of  the  Lord's 


Supper  is  not  only  designed  to  recall  to  those  acquainted 
with  it,  but  to  proclaim  to  those  ignorant  of  it,  the  great 
deliverance  wrought  on  Calvary,  and  the  infinite  love  that 
lay  behind  the  cross,  so  these  memorial  stones  to  commem- 
orate the  miracle  of  Jordan's  dry  crossing  were  pre-eminently 
for  the  sake  of  succeeding  generations.  They  were  to  report 
to  others,  as  well  as  to  recall  to  the  Israelites  of  that  day,  the 
mercies  of  God.  They  were  for  a  perpetual  publication  of 
God's  gracious  dealings  with  his  people.  As  Bunyan  would 
say,  they  were  set  up  "for  the  encouragement  of  pilgrims." 
The  Israelites  were  expressly  forbidden  to  "  hide  God's  mer- 
cies in  their  hearts."  They  were  to  tell  them  to  the  genera- 
tions following. 

So  in  a  sin-sick  world,  the  Christian,  the  church,  must  tell 
of  hopes  of  heaven  and  the  way  to  reach  that  blessed  abode. 
Christ,  when  on  earth,  required  mercies  received  to  be 
mercies  related  for  others'  good,  except  perhaps  where  thought- 
less tattle  would  be  an  injury.  Those  whom  lie  leads  across 
the  Jordan  of  condemnation  into  his  promised  rest  of  pardon 
and  acceptance  he  bids  to  erect  their  memorial  and  join  the 
rest  of  Israel  in  testifying  to  the  greatness  of  their  Saviour. 
Moreover,  memorials  are  to  be  as  enduring  as  possible.  The 
one  at  Gilgal  was  built  of  stones,  and,  it  is  said  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  remained  till  probably  some  centuries  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem.  And  through  all  those  generations  that 
memorial  served  to  elevate  and  inspire  men  by  its  blessed 
memories.  So  Christian,  so  church  memorials  should  not  be 
unsubstantial,  transient.  Those  who  inherit  much  from 
Christ  should  transmit  much  to  others,  who  may  thereby  be- 
come His  disciples.  If  we  have  been  blessed  by  ancestral 
testimony,  let  us  also  likewise  bless  our  descendants.  Let  our 
testimony  to  divine  grace  be  strong,  clear,  decisive — if  it  may 
be,  massive.     Let  it  be  serious  work,  enlisting  our  very  souls. 

II.  I  remark,  secondly.  That  sacred  memorials  are  a  testi- 
mony that  help  and  strength  are  to  be  found  in  the  ordinances 
of  religion. 


9 

When  the  feet  of  the  appointed  priests  touched  the  brink 
of  the  waters,  the  passageway  across  the  tumultuous  stream 
was  formed — the  upper  waters  massed  themselves  above,  and 
the  lower  waters  fled  away.  God  has  appointed  his  ministry 
and  the  services  of  his  sanctuary.  It  is  (through  grace  divine) 
one  of  the  privileges  of  the  Christian  ministry  of  the  new 
covenant,  as  of  the  priests  at  the  command  of  the  Jesus  of 
the  old  covenant,  that  as  their  feet  touch  the  swelling  waters 
of  on-rolling  worldliness  these  subside,  they  flee  away,  at 
least  when  at  the  root  of  the  individual  life  there  lies  the 
spark,  even  though  almost  quenched,  of  faith. 

The  priests  in  the  case  now  in  our  view,  Ave  are  told,  ''  stood 
firm,"  without  faltering  or  wavering,  ar.d  the  miracle  of 
divided  waters  was  performed.  Just  at  this  point  it  was  that 
the  first  memorial  was  afterw^ard  erected,  commemorative 
alike  of  the  fidelity  of  the  priests  and  the  commencement  of 
the  miracle.  Many  are  the  faithful  servants  of  God  in  the 
ministry,  who  have,  like  these  priests  of  old,  felt  their  respon- 
sibility in  the  service  of  God  in  His  church,  and  who,  without 
fainting  by  the  way,  have  unshrinkingly  led  the  sacramental 
hosts  of  God's  elect,  unfaltering  in  their  work  of  "earnestly 
contending  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,"  whose 
trumpet  in  promoting  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  gave  no 
uncertain  sound.  And  many  are  the  memorials,  not  only  of 
costly  shafts  in  celebrated  cemeteries,  but  far,  far  better, 
in  large,  and  established,  and  sanctified  churcli  constituencies, 
and  in  grand  and  enduring  church  edifices,  w^hich  both  liave 
long  borne  eloquent  testimony  to  the  faithful  instruction, 
and  the  wise  and  successful  guidance  by  these  consecrated 
servants  of  Christ,  of  pilgrims  to  the  celestial  city,  who, 
as  shining  stars  in  the  crown  of  their  rejoicing,  shall  con- 
stitute everlasting  memorials  in  the  unveiled  presence  of  the 
ever-living  God. 

III.  I  remark  again.  That  sacred  memorials  are  a  testimony 
that  spiritual  barriers  are  efficient  against  all  assailing  forces. 

Thus  runs  the  narrative  :  "  And  the  priests  that  bare  the 


10 

ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  stood  firm  on  dry  ground  in 
the  midst  of  Jordan,  and  all  the  Israelites  passed  over  on  dry 
ground  until  all  the  people  were  clean  passed  over  Jordan." 
For  the  time  being  that  restless  river  was,  by  the  presence  of 
the  ark,  dammed  as  no  civil  engineer  could  have  done  it.  The 
swift-piling  waters  could  not  break  it  or  find  even  a  leak  in 
it.  There  was  no  struggling  with  the  water;  none  were 
carried  down  the  stream  ;  there  were  no  hair-breadtli  escapes; 
none  were  left  behind  ;  all  got  safely  across.  And  the  memo- 
rial which  was  built  to  commemorate  this  event  was  equally, 
aye,  chiefly,  a  testimonial  that  nothing  can  overcome  purely 
spiritual  barriers.  Many  have  been  the  confident  prophecies 
to  the  contrary,  and  many  the  Elis  that  have  trembled  for  the 
ark  of  God's  truth.  At  times  it  has  indeed  seemed  but  a 
slender  barrier  to  oi)pose  to  the  rushing  and  roaring  river  of 
error  bearing  mightily  down  upon  it.  Science  has  been  so 
arrogant  and  captious  ;  chronology  so  very  sure  ;  metaphysics 
so  proudly  disputatious;  and,  withal,  en  or  so  agreeable  to  the 
natural  man,  that  it  has  seemed  sometimes  as  if  the  current 
were  too  swift  to  be  withstood.  But  the  dashing  Jordans  of 
all  the  manifold  philosophies  and  all  the  multiform  heresies 
have  threatened  God's  truth  in  vain  ;  and  to-day  all  over  the 
governing  nations  of  the  world  the  sacred  memorials  of  Chris- 
tian churches  with  their  heaveu-pointing  spires  in  cities  and 
towns  and  even  infant  villages  attest  the  fact  that  the  simple 
ark  of  God's  truth  is  sufficient  to  withstand  the  most  violent 
and  virulent  opposition.  ''The  weakness  of  God  is  stronger 
than  men." 

IV.  I  remark,  fourthly.  That  sacred  memorials  of  past  ex- 
periences should  have  fruitage  in  large  plans  for  the  future. 

The  first  religious  act  of  the  Israelites  after  crossing  the 
Jordan  was  the  erection  of  their  memorial  about  two  miles 
from  the  river.  And  we  read,  ''they  went  over  prepared  for 
war."  How  bitter  and  bloody  and  victoi-ious  their  succeeding 
conflicts  were,  the  sacred  narrative  gives  us  full  account.  As 
an  elemental  factor  in  their  success,  who  shall  measure  the 


11 

stimulating  value  of  that  Gilgal  memorial,  testifying,  as  in 
mute  eloquence  it  ever  did,  of  divine  help  in  gi-eat  emergen- 
cies. Would  they  not  naturally  reason  that  He  who  had 
divided  the  waters  of  the  Red  Sea,  who  had  daily  strewed 
bread  for  them  over  the  barren  wilderness,  and  who  had  now 
held  back  the  impetuous  Jordan  from  opposing  their  onward 
way,  would  still  honor  their  Ebenezer,  and  enable  them  to 
subdue  and  possess  the  entire  land  to  which  He  had  brought 
them  ?  Was  not  the  chief  intent  of  the  memorial  to  encour- 
age them  to  far  larger  things,  as  the  people  of  God,  for  the 
glory  of  Him  who  had  chosen  them  ? 

And  so,  as  the  Church  of  Christ  goes  on  its  way,  erecting 
as  it  does  ever  and  anon  its  memorial  of  divine  interposition, 
should  it  not  fetch  courage  from  its  monumental  past  to 
widen  the  scope  of  its  future  undertakings  ?  The  Christian 
church  cannot  expect  exemption  from  conflict.  The  great 
Captain  declared  that  He  came  "not  to  send  peace,  but  a 
sword."  Individually,  as  our  forefathers,  we  have  to  "'fight 
the  good  fight  of  faith.'"  And  collectively,  as  a  Christian 
church,  we  have  to  "contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once 
delivered  unto  the  saints."  We  have  not  been  ancestrally  led 
into  what  may  comparatively  be  called  a  "  Land  of  Promise" 
to  be  idle.  Rather  do  enlarged  opportunities  demand  more 
illustrious  results.  Inaction  now  would  be  treason.  Not  re- 
pasts of  milk  and  honey  is  as  yet  our  destiny  ;  but  earnest 
resistance  both  to  the  evil  in  our  own  hearts,  and  then  to  the 
confederated  evils  of  society,  is  the  divine  allotment.  And  for 
this,  as  we  erect  our  centennial  memorial,  let  us  pass  over  the 
boundary  line  between  the  two  centuries,  as  the  Israelites 
passed  over  the  dividing  and  divided  Jordan,  "  prepared," 
i.  e.,  literally  "disencumbered."  Let  us  resolve  to  put  aside, 
as  did  they,  the  impediments  to  activity.  Whatever  may  lie 
in  our  habits,  our  social  customs,  our  recreations,  our  busi- 
ness relations,  or  even  our  affectional  ties,  that  may  fetter  us 
in  the  conflict  with  the  opposing  forces  of  evil,  let  us  reso- 
lutely give  up,     "  Let  us  lay  aside  every  weight  and  every 


12 

easily  besetting  sin,"  and  with  united  front,  as  we  remember 
what  great  things  the  Lord  hath  done  for  us,  meet — and, 
trusting  in  our  fathers'  God,  meet  to  vanquish — the  serried 
ranks  of  evil  that  interpose  to  prevent  the  beneficent  march 
of  the  church  of  the  ever-living  God  to  world-saving  victory. 

One  hundred  years  ago  last  Wednesday  "The  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Horse  Neck  "  was  organized,  with  a  con- 
stituency of  forty  members,  viz. :  eighteen  men  and  twenty- 
two  women.  The  day  of  the  week  was  Friday.  Let  those  who 
look  upon  Friday  as  an  unlucky  day  on  which  to  begin  an 
undertaking  remember  liow  their  forefathers  regarded  it. 

(For  the  precise  record  of  the  formal  commencement  of 
your  ecclesiastical  existence  see  "Hist.  Survey,"  p.  17.  For 
the  conditions  out  of  which  it  took  origin  see  same  "Survey," 
pp.  13,  14,  15,  16.) 

The  first  pastor  of  the  church  was  the  Rev.  Stephen  Grover. 
(See  "  Hist.  Sur.,"  p.  22.)  Under  Mr.  Grover's  labor,  though 
no  special  awakening  occurred  for  eight  years,  yet  considerable 
additions,  to  the  number  of  sixty-eight,  were  made  from  time 
to  time  to  the  communion  of  the  church;  while  the  regular 
and  faithful  ministrations  of  the  Gospel  and  its  ordinances 
produced  a  decidedly  happy  reformation  in  general  manners 
and  morals. 

In  January,  1792,  a  church,  at  an  estimated  cost  of  $3,000, 
was  projected  by  the  earnest  and  faithful  pastor.  This,  after 
four  years  of  great  labor  and  sacrifice  and  patience,  and  sub- 
stantial assistance  from  eleven  contiguous  parishes,  was  com- 
pleted, and  dedicated  April  6,  1796.  (See  "Hist.  Survey," 
pp.  27,  28.)  This  year  was  besides  memorable  for  the  com- 
mencement of  a  powerful  work  of  grace,  which  continued 
through  half  of  the  following  year,  and  resulted  in  the  addi- 
tion of  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  souls  in  all  to  the  church. 
This  was  surpassed,  however,  in  the  year  1808,  when  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-two  at  the  June  communion  were  received  at 
one  time.  (See  "  Hist.  Survey,"  pp.  27,  28,  29.)  In  addition 
to  these  two  large  revivals  Mr.  Grover  was  privileged  to  enjoy 


13 

two  others — one  in  1814,  fruiting  in  sixty-one  conversions, 
and  one  in  1835,  yielding  thirty-three  additions  to  the  church. 

In  the  years  1826-7  the  Kev.  Eobert  Campfield  spent  his 
two  seminary  vacations  here  in  assisting  Mr.  Grover,  and 
after  graduating  spent  six  months  likewise,  from  July,  1828, 
to  January,  1829.  While  the  church  seems  to  have  been  con- 
siderably awakened  under  his  labors  there  are  no  records  of 
any  special  ingatherings. 

In  May,  1830,  the  Eev.  Baker  Johnson  was  settled  as 
assistant  pastor,  and  continued  here  three  years.  There  were 
two  revivals  under  his  ministry,  one  which  added  thirty-seven 
to  the  church  roll,  and  the  other  forty-two.  In  all  ninety- 
seven  joined  under  his  ministry. 

In  October,  1833,  after  Mr.  Johnson's  departure,  Mr. 
Grover,  in  his  seventy-sixth  year,  and  after  having  served  the 
church  forty-six  years,  was  honorably  retired  upon  a  fixed 
annuity,  and,  greatly  beloved  and  venerated,  deceased  in  a 
little  less  than  three  years  thereafter. 

The  next  pastorate  was  that  of  the  Eev.  Mr.  Cleveland, 
which  continued  six  years  and  a  half  from  May,  1834.  After 
three  years  Mr.  Cleveland  called  in  the  assistance  of  an  evan- 
gelist, a  Mr.  Clark,  who  labored  here  several  weeks,  the 
result  of  whose  efforts  was  the  addition  of  seventy-five  to  the 
church  roll.  During  Mr.  Cleveland's  ministry  ninety-seven 
in  all  were  received  into  the  church. 

The  next  pastor  was  the  Eev.  Mr.  Tuttle,  whose  settlement 
continued  eight  years  and  a  half,  from  the  spring  of  1841  to 
the  fall  of  1849.  Under  his  genial,  gentle,  yet  efiicient  min- 
istry, occurred  two  normal  revivals,  in  which  respectively 
thirty  and  forty-four  hoj)eful  conversions  took  place.  In  all 
ninety  were  added  to  the  church  during  his  ministry. 

The  fifth  pastor  was  the  Eev.  Dr.  Sprague,  whose  term  of 
service  extended  through  nineteen  years,  from  January,  1850, 
to  January,  1869.  He  came  as  a  pronounced  revivalist,  and 
several  times  during  his  pastorate,  called  in  to  his  help 
such  revival    evangelists    as  the   Eevs.  Mr.    Underwood,  0. 


14 

Parker,  and  E.  P.  Hammond.  He  was  permitted  to  enjoy 
eight  seasons  of  ingathering,  ranging  in  numbers  from  nine- 
teen to  seventy,  in  all  three  hundred  and  thirteen.  In  four 
of  the  remaining  years  he  received  a  total  of  thirty-three,  and 
in  the  other  seven  a  total  of  only  four;  in  five  of  these  there 
being  no  additions  whatever. 

My  own  ministry  dates  back  sixteen  years  ago  next  spring. 
During  that  time  it  has  been  my  joy  to  welcome  two  hundred 
and  forty-one  upon  confession  into  the  communion  of  the 
church,  and  one  hundred  and  eight  by  letter.  During  these 
years,  the  church  has,  in  the  use  of  no  extraneous  aid,  enjoyed 
four  special  effusions  of  the  spirit,  the  resulting  ingather- 
ings ranging  from  eighteen  to  seventy- three;  the  latter  being 
the  largest  number  received  at  any  one  time  since  the  revival 
of  1808  under  Mr.  Grover. 

The  church  has  received  in  all  2,144  members  upon  confes- 
sion of  faith  during  the  century  ;  1,103  as  the  result  of  twenty- 
one  revivals,  and  1,041  under  the  customary  means  of  grace. 
(Since  Mr.  Grover's  pastorate  two  hundred  and  thirty-one 
have  been  received  by  letter,  nearly  one-half  of  these  during 
my  own  ministry;  this  is  a  significant  fact,  as  to  the  recent 
trend  of  outside  population. ) 

So  much  only  by  way  of  historic  review.  What  of  it  in 
connection  with  the  preceding  part  of  the  discourse?  I  answer: 
this  church's  history  has  been  one  of  conspicuous  blessings 
and  consequent  memorials. 

When  your  forefathers  lived  isolated,  in  rude  log  huts,  on 
mountain  paths,  by  springs,  or  anywhere  that  some  trifling 
advantage  presented  itself,  with  scarcely  one  dwelling  among 
them  all  that  could  keep  out  an  ordinary  storm,  and  the  land 
was  so  densely  covered  with  timber  that  it  was  a  struggle  to 
provide  even  the  simplest  means  of  subsistence,  the  God-fear- 
ing portion  of  them  gave  themselves  in  serious  attention  to 
matters  of  religion. 

This,  like  the  prayers  of  the  centurion,  Cornelius,  came  up 
as  a  "memorial"  before  God,  and  He  thereupon  inclined  to 


15 

come  unto  them  godly  men  from  neighboring  churches  to 
break  unto  them  the  bread  of  life. 

The  church-that-was- to-be  then  erected  its  next  memorial 
by  securing  the  parsonage  lands  for  the  purpose,  as  expressly 
stated,  to  "■  promote  the  public  worship  of  Almighty  God,  by 
making  decent  provision  for  the  support  of  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel,  and  of  erecting  a  convenient  house  for  public  wor- 
ship." 

This  was  followed  by  the  building  of  the  manse.  Upon 
this  memorial,  even  while  yet  unfinished,  God  poured  out  his 
further  blessing  in  a  very  considerable  revival  of  religion. 

This  again  your  pious  ancestors  followed  by  organizing 
themselves  into  a  church.  Upon  this  came  and  continued  the 
baptism  of  heavenly  impulses,  until,  in  response,  your  fore- 
fathers called  and  settled  over  them  a  man  of  God  for  a  pastor. 
This  memorial  God  blessed  in  the  ingathering  of  sixty-eight 
souls,  and  the  overcrowding  of  their  humble  place  of  worship. 
They  thereupon  enlarged  their  memorial  by  the  erection  of  a 
church,  which  for  those  times  was  indeed  large  and  honor- 
worthy.  Immediately  thereafter  God's  responsive  blessing 
came  in  great  power,  adding  within  two  years  nearly  two 
hundred  to  the  communion  of  the  church. 

Then  continued  fidelity  in  His  worship  as  a  memorial  of 
devout  gratitude,  God  blessed  for  ten  years  with  the  saving 
of  seventy  souls  more,  emphasizing  the  closing  of  that  epoch 
by  the  never-to-be-forgotten  revival  of  1808,  which  added.  152 
at  one  time  to  the  church's  strength,  crowding  the  capacity 
of  the  church  edifice  with  thankful  and  grace-developed 
worshipers,  who  thus  continued  their  memorials  to  the  divine 
goodness. 

In  six  years  the  Great  Head  of  the  church  again  sent  his 
copious  blessing  in  a  large  and  gracious  revival.  Then  from 
time  to  time  churches  began  to  build  in  adjacent  neighbor- 
hoods, deriving  of  course  from  this  ecclesiastical  center  their 
inspiration,  as  also  much  of  their  strength.  And  so,  recipro- 
cal blessings  and  memorials,  memorials  and  blessings  which 


16 

there  is  not  time  to  particularize,  continued,  during  succes- 
sive pastorates  till  twelve  years  ago,  the  29th  of  November, 
1872,  when  God  furnished  you  the  opportunity  to  undertake 
yet  larger  things,  in  the  removal  by  fire  of  your  time-honored 
and  beloved  sanctuary,  whose  smouldering  ruins  drew  honest 
tears  from  many  eyes. 

Enlarging  the  memorial  of  your  faith,  and  again  crowning 
it  "Ebenezer," — "hitherto  hath  the  Lord  helped  us," — you 
confidently  went  forward,  and  ere  long  this  beautiful,  sub- 
stantial, and  capacious  structure  up-sprang  from  the  ashes  of 
the  first. 

But  unforeseen  obstacles  arose,  which,  though  you  have 
manfully  coped  with  them,  find  this  second  structure,  nine 
years  after  its  completion,  unliberated  from  debt,  and  undedi- 
cated  to  God.  What  time  more  opportune,  dear  friends,  for 
me  as  your  pastor,  recalling  to  your  notice,  your  past  enviable 
history,  to  urge  you,  under  its  stimulating  and  inspiriting 
lessons,  as  you  tread  upon  the  threshold  of  a  new  century,  to 
imitate  the  apostle  Paul,  and  "thank  God  and  take  courage." 
If  God  has  so  faithfully  guided  you  in  the  past,  through  the 
Red  Sea  of  the  beginnings  of  your  church  history,  through 
the  wilderness  of  your  protracted  and  toilsome  joui-neyings, 
and  across  the  swift  and  swollen  Jordan  of  your  recent  emer- 
gencies, set  up,  rather,  complete  this  your  memorial  and 
then  press  on  to  the  victories,  that,  as  a  valiant  church,  are 
yet  awaiting  your  faithful  fighting. 

In  the  absence  of  earlier  data,  compare  the  past  fifteen 
years  alone  with  the  feeble  beginnings  of  this  church's  his- 
tory, and  "What  hath  God  wrought?"  Your  benevolent  con- 
tributions for  the  period  named, without  the  unrecorded  ones, 
are  just  about  a  round  $15,000,  while  your  contributions 
for  church  purposes  for  the  same  time  are  a  trifle  over  $100,000, 
besides  $10,000  realized  from  the  sale  of  land. 

Is  not  He,  who  enabled  you  to  begin  and  rear  this  already 
renowned  church-building  as  a  suitable  advance  in  "memo- 
rial "  raising  upon  the  deeds  of  a  century  past,  and  which  is 


17 

far,  far  more  within  the  scope  of  3'oiir  means  than  the  dear 
old  wooden  church  was  within  the  reach  of  your  forefathers, 
is  not  He  waiting  for  you,  as  Paul  wrote  to  the  Corinthians, 
to  "  co77iplete  the  doing  also,"  "that  as  there  was  the  readi- 
ness to  will,  there  may  be  the  completion  also  out  of  your 
ability"?  Is  there  a  more  suitable  way  to  remember  Him, 
who  "  giveth  you  the  power  to  get  wealth  "?  Is  it  not  emi- 
nently fitting  in  this  opening  of  your  second  century  to  com- 
memorate in  this  expressive  form  your  gratitude  for  the  over- 
flowing abundance  of  the  divine  mercies  towards  you  hitherto? 

What  an  important  page  in  your  church  history  does  it  now 
lie  within  your  province  to  contribute  !  What  an  illustrious 
time  is  now  yours  to  consummate  your  memorial  !  It  is 
yours  to  send  it  down  to  history  for  the  successive  generations 
of  your  children  to  read  with  unmixed  reverence  for  your 
memories  and  delight  in  your  deeds,  that  under  the  stimulus 
of  a  review  of  your  manifold  mercies  for  a  completed  century 
you  gratefully  and  piously  released  your  church  from  the 
thrall  of  its  indebtedness  that  it  might  enter  with  freedom 
and  gladness  upon  a  second  century  of  far  more  liberal  and 
glorious  achievement  than  that  which  makes  its  past  to-day 
so  renowned. 

At  one  time  it  looked  as  if  God  were  not  going  to  require 
any  sacrifice  of  this  generation  in  the  line  of  church  erection. 
But  since  He  has  blessed  you  with  the  opportunity  for  its  expe- 
rience— and  burden-bearing  has  great  benefits — I  entreat  you 
furnish  to  your  children  and  to  theirs,  the  evidence  of  your 
consecration  to  Christ  a.nd  your  testimony  to  the  help  and 
strength  that  are  to  be  found  in  the  preserved  ordinances  of 
religion,  which  would  be  shown  by  your  arising  and  breaking 
off  the  church's  financial  fetters. 

Nor  am  I  asking  anything  impossible.  There  is  no  want 
of  ability.  Is  it  not,  then,  idle  to  suffer  the  leeches  of  interest 
to  suck  any  more  of  the  life-blood  of  the  principal  ?  Waiting 
for  the  advent  of  the  railroad  has  been  the  most  delusive  ignis 
fatuus.  Is  it  worth  while  to  be  lured  on  any  longer  by  such 
2 


18 

a  siren  ?  Is  it  economy  by  postponing  the  debt-payment  to 
pay  it  twice  over  ?  It  is  staggering  to  think  how  much 
money  has  been  devoured  already  by  the  hungry  and  insatiable 
wolf  of  interest.  Is  it  not  wiser  to  dispatch  the  ravenous 
animal  altogether  ? 

It  is  to  me  a  heavy  drawback  from  the  anticipated  enjoy- 
ment of  this  long-anticipated  day  not  to  be  able  to  unfold  to 
your  view  the  cancelled  mortgage  which  so  oppressively 
blankets  this  church.  Nor  could  I  have  spoken  otherwise 
than  I  have  without  being  recreant  to  you,  to  myself,  to  the 
memory  of  your  ancestors,  to  the  interests  of  the  church  here 
and  at  large,  and  to  the  Great  Head  of  the  church,  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  I  beg  of  you  now,  as  you  raise  the  new  banner 
of  your  second  century's  battling  for  the  Lord,  to  inscribe 
upon  it  in  clear  and  conspicuous  lettering,  "  For  the  sake  of 
our  forefathers'  Saviour;  for  the  sake  of  our  own  dear  Lord; 
for  the  sake  of  our  children's  Redeemer,  our  first  and  fully 
recognized  duty  is — and  with  God's  help  we  will  meet  it  at 
once — to  free  our  beautiful  Zion  from  its  monetary  bondage." 
Trusting  in  Him  who  led  his  people  through  the  Eed  Sea,  and 
the  wilderness,  and  the  Jordan,  soon  may  we  hear,  as  a  voice 
from  heaven,  "■  The  day  of  deliverance  draweth  nigh,"  aye, 
the  actual  shout  of  victory  over  the  vanquished  demon  of  debt. 

Thau  this  there  is  now  no  memorial  so  clamorous  for  erec- 
tioQ.  Then — and  methinks  I  see  already  the  dawn  of  the 
glorious  day — then  will  we  gather  in  massy  numbers  and  with 
consecrated  and  joy-swollen  hearts  unreservedly  dedicate  this 
goodly  structure  to  the  worship  of  the  triune  God.  Then, 
too,  as  did  our  fathers  eighty-eight  years  ago,  shall  we  bear 
our  accentuated  testimony  to  the  unpriced  value  of  unham- 
pered church  privileges  to  heaven-bent  pilgrims — our  testi- 
mony to  the  necessity  and  efficacy  of  spiritual  barriers,  of 
which  church  structures  are  the  symbols,  against  the  Jordauic 
forces  of  evil.  Then  shall  we  prove  ourselves  worthy  inheri- 
tors of  the  ancestral,  prayer-blessed  legacy  which  has  been 
bequeathed   to   us,  and   also   fitly  recognize  the  lesson,  that 


19 

increased  opportunities  and  privileges  bring  with  them  en- 
hanced responsibilities  ;  that  we  mean  by  our  memorial 
greater  things  for  times  to  come.  So  shall  Ave,  as  did  our 
fathers,  testify  our  faith  in  the  efficiency  of  this  Christ-owned, 
Spirit-blest  church  to  promote  the  prosperity  of  secular  indus- 
tries, the  happiness  of  families,  tlie  peace  and  security  of 
society,  and  the  salvation  of  souls.  So,  if  God's  providence 
shall  preserve  from  elemental  destruction  this  stately  pile, 
constructed  like  the  Gilgal  memorial,  of  enduring  stones, 
shall,  long  after  we  have  been  laid  to  our  final  rest,  be  pro- 
claime:!.  as  children's  children  continue  to  ask,  "What  meant 
our  fathers  by  these  goodly  stones  ?"  the  answer.  They  meant 
chiefly  to  testify  their  loyalty  to  God,  and  assert  the  hope, 
that  as  He  alone  held  the  first  place  in  their  hearts,  as  He 
had  also  done  in  the  hearts  of  their  fathers,  so  He  would  like- 
wise in  yours.  They  meant  to  testify  their  loyalty  to  the 
material  church  of  Christ— the  birth-place  of  souls— which 
the  former  church  had  been  to  their  fathers  and  to  them,  and 
which  they  fervently  prayed  this  second  temple  might  become 
to  you,  even  the  gate  of  heaven.  They  meant  to  testify  their 
deep  and  devout  gratitude  to  the  Great  Head  of  the  church, 
for  all  His  distinguishing  and  manifold  mercies  to  their  own 
and  the  preceding  generations,  and  to  incite  you,  their  chil- 
dren, to  avail  yourselves  of  the  impetus  given  by  your  fathers 
to  the  great  work  of  God  in  this  church  of  such  singularly 
hallowed  memories,  and  to  urge  it  yet  more  vigorously  for- 
ward than  did  they,  and,  ever  broadening  the  scope  of  your 
faith,  ever  increasing  the  fervor  of  your  prayers  and  the  eager- 
ness of  your  zeal,  to  inscribe  upon  your  banners,  "  The  whole 
township  of  Caldwell  for  Christ."  With  an  animating  his- 
tory ;  with  the  stimulating  promises  of  a  covenant-keeping 
God,  whose  word  is  that  He  will  be  with  the  childi-en  as  He 
has  been  with  their  fathers  ;  with  the  assured  aid  of  an  ever- 
present  Redeemer,  to  whom  His  church  stands  in  the  near 
and  dear  relation  of  bride  ;  and  with  the  life-giving  influences 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  ever  at  hand,  1  close  with  the  inquiry, 


50 

Shall  we,  or  shall  we  not,  signalize  the  entrance  upon  the 
second  century  of  our  ecclesiastical  existence  with  the  sug- 
gested and  suitable  memorial  of  our  beloved  Zion's  emancipa- 
tion from  the  slavery  of  enshackling  debt  ? 


AFTEENOON  SESSION. 

In  the  afternoon  a  very  extensive  and  interesting  programme 
was  followed.  After  "  All  Hail  the  Power  of  Jesus'  Name," 
the  vast  congregation  was  led  in  a  fervent  and  appropriate 
prayer  by  the  oldest  member  of  the  sesfjion,  Mr.  Wm.  Lane, 
in  his  81st  year.  A  quartette  then  rendered  Holbrook's 
**  Thou,  who  art  enthroned  on  High,"  after  which  a  poem 
was  read  by  Mr.  C.  M.  Harrison  on  the  history  and  struggles 
of  the  founders  of  the  church.  Interesting  communications 
were  presented  from  Lewis  C.  Grover,  Esq.,  Rev.  Eobert  B. 
Canipfield,  Eev.  I.  N.  Sprague,  D.  D.,  a  former  pastor,  Eev. 
William  N.  Cleveland,  whose  father  occupied  the  pastorate 
from  1834  to  1840.  A  review  of  the  inner  life  of  the  church 
from  the  pen  of  a  lady  connected  with  the  church,  was 
received  with  much  pleasure.  A  brief  and  genial  address  of 
congratulation  from  the  Eev,  Mr.  Thomas,  pastor  of  the 
Baptist  Church,  followed.  Mr.  A.  A.  Eaveu,  of  BrQoklyn, 
made  the  closing  address. 

A  letter  was  read  as  follows  from  President-elect  Cleveland: 

Executive  Mansion,  Albany,  Dec.  5,  1884. 

Rev.  C.  T.  Berry.  Dear  Sir:  I  have  your  letter,  informing  mc  that  on 
the  7th  of  the  present  month  the  centennial  of  the  church  at  CaJdvvell,  in 
which  my  father  once  preached,  will  be  celebrated.  Though  I  remember 
almost  nothing  of  the  village  where  I  i^pent  a  few  very  early  days,  I  can 
sincerely  say  that  the  spot  is  dear  to  me— as  the  place  of  his  bii-th  should 
be  dear  to  every  man.  The  name  brings  to  mind  scenes  in  the  family 
circle,  when  the  incidents  of  Caldwell  life  were  recalled  and  dwelt  upon 
with  pleasure  and  gratitude.    And  when  I  remember  that  there  my  sainted 


21 


parents  had  their  home,  and  there  my  godly  father  wrought  and  struggled 
in  his  Heavenly  Father's  mission,  the  place  to  me  seems  hallowed  and 
sacred.  The  Caldwell  church,  built  up  and  prospered  by  the  labors  of 
such  pious  and  devoted  men  as  ha^  e  been  its  pastors,  has  much  in  its  cen- 
tennial year  to  chasten  and  consecrate  its  history.  In  the  days  to  come, 
may  it  always  remain  true  and  steadfast  in  the  work  committed  to  its 
charge,  faithfully  teaching  the  pure  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  and  avoiding 
all  malice  and  uncharitableness.        Yours  very  truly, 

Grover  Cleveland. 

Of  the  addresses,  two  are  reproduced  iu  the  following  pages. 
The  services  had  begun  at  2.30  o'clock,  and  as  it  was  now 
growing  dark,  the  great  assemblage,  after  a  brief  exhortation 
by  the  pastor  and  singing  the  Doxology,  ''Praise  God,  from 
whom  all  blessings  flow,"  were  dismissed  with  the  benediction. 


A   PO  EM 


DESCRIPTIVE  OF  THE  EARLY  SETTLERS  WHO  BECAME  THE 

FOUNDERS  OF  THE  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN 

CHURCH   OF  CALDWELL. 

BY  C.    M.    HARRISON,    A.    M. 


POEM 


CHURCH  of  the  highland  plain,  queen  in  unique 
And  beauteous  design,  fair  child  of  art, 
Our  village  pride,  to  thee,  to-day,  we  turn, 
And  in  the  lines  of  thy  perspective,  read 
The  lessons  of  the  far-off  times  ! 

Our  church  and  plain,  so  wedded  in  the  past, 

On  this  occasion,  must  their  themes  conjoin. 

Then  let  us  gather  up  again  the  threads 

Of  hardships,  perils  past,  and  tell,  once  more. 

The  story  of  one  hundred  fifty  years 

Or  more  ago.     For  richly  blest  are  we 

In  church,  and  in  her  history,  replete 

"With  tender  memories  of  the  ancient  years. 

And  blest  by  nature  in  our  rare  plateau. 

Its  skirting  hills,  long  undulating  slopes. 

And  clear,  bright  vistas  opening  to  the  west. 

What  grandeur  here  have  we!   Beyond  outspread. 

What  bright  and  varied  scenery  greets  the  view! 

Below,  Passaic's  valley,  studded  o'er 

With  rustic  homes,  and  meadows  large  and  fair. 

Half  hid  from  view  by  intervening  groves. 

And  far  to  northward  still,  'mid  Pompton's  mines. 

Where  Mount  Wynockie*  marks  the  hour  of  noon, 

Behold  again  a  matchless  landscape  scene; 

While  past  the  hills  that  skirt  Passaic's  stream. 


*This  mountain  is  due  north  from  Caldwell,  and  is  often  used  as  a  noon 
mark  by  the  workmen  m  the  fields. 


36 

The  morning  sun,  on  Boonton's  eastern  slope, 
Keyeals  the  mountain  town  in  flashing  light, 
A  blaze  of  morning  glory.     The  rapt  eye 
Long  lingers  'mid  the  changeful  shades  and  lights 
That  play  in  splendor  'mong  the  rifted  hills 
Of  Morris;  thence  turning  southward  still,  scans 
The  clear,  blue  hights,  that  circle  round  the  plains 
Beyond  historic  Morristown. 

On  this  plateau,  so  rich  in  varied  scenes, 

Our  ancestry  their  homes  and  fortunes  sought. 

Here  on  the  hills  and  slopes  and  village  plain. 

Beside  the  gushing  springs  and  rippling  streams 

Devotedly  their  rude  log  cabins  built. 

Strong,  earnest  men  were  they,  scarce  swayed  by  doubt, 

But  ever  trustful  of  their  strength  and  plans; 

And  for  their  rough  and  rugged  times,  they  were, 

In  purpose,  wisdom,  faith,  full  well  equipped. 

They  were  a  type  of  knightly  pioneers, 

Disdaining  gain  by  dint  of  force  or  fraud. 

Who  held  the  aborigines  the  lords 

Of  these  fair  lands.     From  Loantique,  Taphow, 

And  Manshun,  Indian  Kings,  their  title  came. 

Long  after,  Tischewomakin,  Sha2:»hoe, 

Quiehtoe,  Yaupis,  Indian  princes  true. 

Their  deed*  confirmed.     Our  fathers  bought  from  these, 

And  held  the  red  men's  title  sacred  and  secure. 

But  there  were  letters  patent  from  the  Crown, 

Then  held  by  divers  lords  imperious. 

Who,  boastful  of  proprietary  rights. 

Harassed  the  yeomen  and  their  lands  enjoined. 

Confusions  and  revolt  quick  following. 

The  titled  landlords  had  recourse  to  law. 

With  costly  litigation  did  they  vox 

The  rustic  holders,  blighting  well  laid  plans. 

And  robbing  fields  of  careful  toil  and  tilth. 


♦The  original  deed  was  destroyed  by  the  burning  of  Mr.  Jonathan  Ker- 
son's  dwelling,  1744. 


27 

The  doughty  yeomen,  who,  in  faith  had  bought 
Their  lands  from  those  to  whom  the  laws  of  right 
Had  given  just  possession,  held  the  claims 
So  vaguely  formulated  by  the  king, 
As  void,  denjdng  that  discovery 
Gave  right  to  sell  the  soil.     With  dogged  will 
Our  fathers  battled  for  their  homes  and  lands; 
For  these  had  they  not  bought  and  much  improved? 
To  yield  them  were  to  give  from  out  their  lives 
Long  years  of  anxious  care.     Demanding  right, 
They  clamored,  jails  broke  open,  laws  defied, 
And,  for  a  season,  held  the  lords  at  bay. 

At  last,  the  long  and  costly  suit  was  closed. 

And  judgments  entered  'gainst  their  well-earned  fields. 

To  these  hard  mandates  they  were  forced  to  yield, 

And  buy  anew,  against  their  sense  of  right. 

Their  holdings  from  the  agents  of  the  king. 

Those  early  years  with  pain  for  them  were  rife. 
Hard  was  their  lot  in  battling  forest  wilds; 
But  resolute  their  minds  and  strong  their  limbs. 
The  virgin  forests  fell  beneath  their  blows, 
And  cumbrous  boulders  yielded  to  their  might. 
Their  widening,  wood-girt  fields  kind  nature  blessed, 
And  bounteous  crops  their  homely  garners  filled. 
Plain,  honest  thrift  their  rustic  comforts  won. 
While  trust  in  God  sublimed  their  stubborn  tasks. 

Slight  records  have  they  left  us  of  their  lives. 
Tradition,  blending  the  few  scattered  facts 
With  simple  legends,  weaves  the  meagre  web 
Of  ancient  rustic  industry  and  faith, 
Unsullied  honors  and  abiding  loves. 
Full  fifty  years  before  the  great  event. 
We  gather  here  this  day  to  celebrate, 
The  struggling  settlers  toiled  amid  these  hills. 
Young  Sanders  was  among  the  first  to  come, 
And  by  ihe  village  brooklet  built  his  hut. 


His  thrift  was  slow,  but  emigration's  tide, 

Then  westward  setting,  brought  him  traffic's  chance. 

So  briskly  to  his  wish,  the  home  of  logs 

Gave  place  to  Sander's  Inn,  "  The  Old  Stone  Fort." 

Here  squatters  gathered,  resting  from  the  chase. 

And  village  gossij?,  with  abuse  of  worth. 

The  long,  weird  winter  nights  were  wont  to  till. 

E'en  this  old  friend  our  charity  invokes. 

'Twas  oft  the  church  and  inn  stood  side  by  side; 

For  rigid  churchmen,  in  those  early  days. 

Would  tipple  with  their  neighbors,  bandy  jests, 

With  badinage  would  e'en  their  pastors  greet. 

Who  like  the  rest,  sometimes,  their  glass  would  sip. 


But  Sanders  brought  a  friend,  unlike  himself, 

A  man  of  larger  brain  and  keener  sense, 

Who,  wrestling  with  the  forests,  won  fair  fields; 

Who,  loving  love  and  truth,  the  right  maintained. 

In  him,  our  first  much  honored  pioneer, 

Eeligion  found  a  dauntless  advocate. 

To  Thomas  Gould  we  give  full  meed  of  praise. 

For  he  was  princely  in  his  deeds  and  gifts. 

His  peers  came  later,  brave  and  true  as  he. 

With  him  through  hope  and  fear,  and  loss  and  gain, 

The  infant  church,  with  tireless  care,  they  nursed. 

In  Samuel  Crane  and  Joseph  Harrison, 

Who  tilled  the  fertile  sloping  lands  below. 

And  westward  from  these  heights,  yoke-fellows  true, 

In  all  good  works,  he  found,  whose  word  was  bond. 

No-e,  and  Joseph  Baldwin,  Personette 

And  Caleb  Hetfield — these  must  added  be 

To  that  bright  galaxy  of  worthy  names 

That  grace  the  opening  records  of  our  church. 

Mark  well  the  zeal  of  these  devoted  men — 

Their  gifts,  their  works,  their  faith,  their  trustful  prayer! 

For  them  the  Sabbath  was  a  sacred  day, 

A  day  of  labor  for  the  cause  of  Christ. 

They  met  in  private  houses,  anywhere, 


29 

In  barns,  or,  weather  favoring,  in  groves. 
And,  to  their  gravely  reverent  souls,  the  Word 
Was  like  to  seed  upon  the  mellowed  soil. 
Which  yields  the  husbandman  an  hundredfold. 

Their  fervor  hither  drew,  from  time  to  time, 

Staunch  missionary  pioneers,  who  came 

And  taught,  with  yearning  zeal  and  fervent  speech, 

The  rudiments  of  that  theology. 

Which,  rock-like,  made  their  faith's  foundation  sure. 

Sometimes  good,  worthy  Doctor  Darby  came ; 

And  still  from  distant  fields,  whene'er  they  could, 

Came  Jedediah  Chapman,  Jacob  Green, 

And  Joseph  Grover— these  good  pastors  all. 

And  one  of  saintly  memory,  who  lives 

In  our  afEections,  and  whose  noble  life 

All  lustrous  gleams  in  those  heroic  years. 

Was  often  with  our  fathers,  counselled  them, 

Inspired  their  zeal,  and  wedded  them  to  Christ 

By  his  persuasive  eloquence. 

James  Caldwell,  scholar,  pastor,  patriot,  friend, 

Was  peer  to  all  the  bravest  of  this  land  ! 

He  loved  his  God  with  might,  and  loved  God's  gifts. 

And,  next  to  God,  his  country  loved  he  best. 

When  war's  dread  clarion  startled  all  the  land, 

His  blended  force  as  soldier,  statesman,  priest. 

In  peril's  straits,  a  saving  leadership 

Became  ;  in  liberty's  defence,  a  wall 

Of  dauntless  will  no  traitor  pleas  could  move. 

For  liberty  and  home  and  God  he  preached, 

He  prayed,  he  fought;  and  thus  to  foes  he  was 

But  target  to  their  hate.     They  foully  shot 

His  queenly  wife,  whilst  in  her  arms  his  babe 

Was  nestling.     Friends,  what  sacrifice  was  here! 

He,  after,  while  on  mercy's  mission  sent. 

Was  basely  killed.     Hoav  dearly  Caldwell  gave  ! 

His  name  a  crown  of  honor  to  our  town. 

This  "  Caldwell  Church  "  must  ever  proudly  bear. 


30 

Through  God-like  men,  who  peril,  hardship  knew. 
Yet  never  feared,  our  church  to  life  was  called. 
The  fathers,  oft  perplexed,  worked  on  with  will. 
Their  unction  grew  apace — the  more  increased, 
Because  endeavor  was  so  girdled  round 
With  keenly  felt  solicitiides.     Their  cause,  at  first, 
Seemed  hopeless;  and,  'tis  true,  their  way  was  dark, 
And  would  have  trended  into  darkening  night, 
Had  not  celestial  light  illumined  hope, 
And  faith,  blest  angel  that  upholds  and  saves, 
Where  choice  and  will  work  in  the  grooves  of  grace, 
Inspired  their  hearts,  while  patient  charity, 
Which,  from  a  seeming  nothing,  something  gives, 
Transformed  their  weakness  into  glowing  strength. 


In  seventeen  hundred  sixty-five 

They  toiled  and  gave  of  timber,  to  the  end 

Of  building  for  themselves  an  edifice 

Devoted  to  God's  worship.     All  too  soon. 

Though  long  delayed  their  plans!     For,  now,  from  out 

The  East  came  fretful  rumors,  dire  portents 

Of  coming  storm,  which  madly  broke,  ere  long. 

And  whelmed  the  land  in  sorrow  and  in  blood. 

All  enterprise,  except  in  war,  stood  still. 

Fire  swept  the  land  ;  decay  and  death  held  sway; 

For  hope  and  energy  to  tented  fields  had  flown. 

They  who  remained  at  home,  as  "minute  men," 

When  not  in  camp,  with  ardor  worked  the  soil, 

As  soldier-farmers,  feeding  those  who  fought. 

Involved  were  sacred  honor,  fortune,  peace — 

The  usufruct  of  freedom's  toil  and  skill, 

God-giv'n,  and,  except  immortal  hope, 

The  all-in-all  this  earth  to  mortals  yields. 

Such  good,  the  noblest  guerdon  man  may  gain, 

Evoked  sublimest  purpose,  Avhicli  prevailed 

At  last,  and  liberty  was  won. 


31 

The  church,  meantime,  these  years  of  gloom  and  doubt. 

Had  lost;  yet  still,  had  gained;  her  spark  of  life 

Not  dead,  but  glowing  into  brighter  flame. 

Her  offering  made  to  freedom's  sacred  cause 

She'd  yielded  freely,  both  her  means  and  men— 

In  service,  Campbell,  Gen'ral  William  Gould, 

The  Harrisons,  the  Canfields,  and  the  Cranes. 

And  with  war's  close,  a  score  of  patriots  came; 

Josiah  Steele  and  Lane,  among  these  braves, 

To  Avhom,  for  seven  long  years  of  war  endured, 

Is  due  an  honored  mention  on  this  page. 

The  parish  grew  in  numbers  and  in  strength  ; 

Ere  long,  a  parsonage,  in  dimensions  large. 

And,  for  that  epoch,  in  design  advanced. 

Was  building.     People  flocked  to  hear  the  Word; 

Truth  couquered  wish;  grace,  with  her  saving  might, 

Found  open  hearts,  receptive  to  her  gifts; 

And  faith  sublimed  in  deed  the  work  of  grace. 

When  forty  persons,  loyal,  loving,  true, 

Enrolled  their  names,  "  embodied  as  a  church," 

December  third  of  seventeen  eighty-four. 

This  signal  day  in  our  church  calendar 

Enfolds  the  triumphs  of  that  steadfast  trust. 

Which,  through  the  first  sad  days  of  penury. 

And  through  the  gloom  of  after  years  of  pain. 

Oppression  and  of  war,  our  fathers  led. 

To  consummate  their  long  design. 

To  men  and  women  of  this  noble  type. 

What  honors  shall  we  render?   How  extol 

Their  strong,  intensive  hopes  and  energies! 

To  say  that  it  were  but  the'iv  fear  of  God 

Tliat  moulded  hope  and  shaped  their  faith  and  works. 

Would  be  but  taunt  and  insult  in  the  face 

Of  love  they  bore  the  right  for  Christ's  sweet  sake. 

Nor  can  we  say  that  their  environments 

Were  virtue's  cordon,  keeping  them  from  wrong. 

There  was  not  dearth  of  chance  for  craft  and  crime. 

The  laws  were  few  and  lax;  and,  in  the  midst 


32 

Of  these  true  heroes  in  the  cause  of  right, 

There  dwelt  adventurous  and  godless  men. 

Whose  crafty  vaunts  were  basest  heresies. 

These  they  withstood,  nor  deemed  it  worthy  praise. 

Their  lots  were  cast  upon  the  rocks  of  need. 

And  oft  the  soft  impleadings  of  a  voice, 

That  bated  resolution,  loading  wish 

With  ill  desire,  would  break  the  good  men's  peace. 

To  such  seductive  ministries  as  these 

Their  hearts  were  flint.     Truth,  vitalized  by  faith. 

Saw  but  the  narrow  way  and  followed  it. 

Saw  but  the  narrow  way!   No  craven  fears 

Impelled  their  following;  'twas  love  of  truth, 

And  love  of  Christ,  and  fellow-men;  and  God, 

In  kindest  mercy,  fed  the  flame  of  love; 

Enkindled  frotn  celestial  rays,  it  poured 

Its  roseate  light  upon  their  brightening  path. 

To  Him,  who,  through  that  ever  sturdy  band, 

Reveals  to  us  His  steadfastness  iu  all 

His  wise  and  kind  designs  for  all  mankind, — 

To  God  and  to  His  Christ,  who  blessed  our  sires. 

And  vision  gave  to  scan  the  far-off  years. 

We  render  praise  this  day  with  grateful  hearts! 

What  happened  after, — how  the  "  Old  Frame  Church" 

Was  built, — the  sacrifices  made, — the  debt, 

How  paid^ — these  were  but  sequences,  the  fruits 

That  ripened  on  the  branches  of  the  tree 

Of  God's  implanting,  which  strong,  pious  hands 

Had  early  nourished  m  this  wilderness. 

Of  these,  my  time  forbids  that  I  should  speak. 

And  still  my  thought  constrains  a  further  word; 

This  church,  as  an  inheritance,  evokes 

To  life  again,  emotions,  which,  within 

The  deeps  of  hearts  now  stilled,  were  wont  to  dwell 

The  quiet  Joys  of  trustful  piety, 

And  ecstacies  of  hope.     Then  may  we  say 

That  now,  on  this  occasion,  ages  past 

Are  speaking  with  these  present  hours  as  face 


33 

To  face,  and,  in  their  rich  and  ripened  tones, 

In  pleadings  tenderly  enforced,  are  we 

Not  called  ourselves  to  heed  the  ancient  ways, 

And,  deaf  to  sophistries,  rededicate 

Our  love  and  service  to  the  King  of  Kings! 

Our  Church  must  gain  in  influence, — not  lose 

In  prestige,  or  in  moral  leadership. 

It  will  not!  Christ  is  with  it  to  the  end! 

But,  friends,  in  these  poor  fleeting  lives  of  ours, 

How  do  we,  bravely  working  for  the  world. 

Both  lag  and  grudge  in  service  and  in  gifts, 

Wherein  we  have  embodied  highest  types 

Of  duty,  whose  returns  are  not  for  self, 

Nor  limited  in  time,  nor  yet  in  place, , 

But  which  are  contributions  to  the  end 

Of  "  Peace  on  earth;  good  will  to  men." 

But  on  our  church,  in  our  unthinking  moods. 

We  lay  the  burden  of  our  blinded  hopes. 

Expecting  walls  and  furnished  pews  to  teach 

The  mass  of  men  and  lead  to  grace  and  God. 

The  church  is  heaven's  true  gift,  whose  power  for  good 

Is  measured  by  our  faith  expressed  in  acts. 

If  what  of  Heavenly  truth  we  feel  and  hope. 

Have  counterpart  in  that  we  say  and  do. 

Then  will  the  church  stand  forth  sublime  indeed, 

God's  power  omnipotent  to  save  the  lost. 

How  to  the  church  you  look  as  part  of  home! 
Here  have  you  come  to  learn  the  way  of  life; 
Here  have  you  broke  your  stubborn  wills  and  found, 
Within  the  promises,  true  treasure  stores 
Of  all  that  soul  can  crave— peace,  pardon,  rest. 
Here  have  you  richly  gained  m  chastened  hope, 
And  happily  purged  the  longings  of  desire; 
And  when  the  sombre  shade  of  death  has  fall'n 
Upon  your  homes,  here  have  you  borne  your  griefs, 
And  found  assuagement  in  the  blessed  Word. 
3 


34 


Here  have  your  souls  to  ecstacy  been  stirred, 
By  spirit  music,  pulsing  through  the  sense, 
While  sweetly,  through  its  soft,  rich  melody, 
Has  swelled  the  glorious  anthem  of  rapt  hope, 
"I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life." 

As  with  our  fathers,  let  there  he  with  us. 
The  unction  of  an  earnest  faith  in  God. 
And  may  the  hundred  years  that  are  to  come. 
Be  rich,  as  those  now  passed,  in  garnered  fruits. 


ADDRESS: 

CHRISTIAN   DUTIKS, 

BY    MR.    A.    A.    RAVEN. 


ADDRESS. 


IT  is  common  to  reserve  the  best  wine  for  the  latter  part  of 
the  feast,  but  the  order  seems  to  have  been  reversed  on  the 
present  occasion.  Surely,  in  the  progress  of  these  interesting 
services  we  have  enjoyed  a  rich  feast^  and  we  might  now  bring 
them  to  a  close  with  entire  satisfaction.  But  inasmuch  as  I 
have  been  asked  to  say  a  few  words,  permit  me  to  suggest 
one  or  two  thoughts.  Your  pastor  has  truly  said  that, 
although  not  a  member  of  this  church,  I  am  interested  in  its 
welfare;  all  true  Christians  should  be  interested  in  the  church 
of  Christ  irrespective  of  denominational  distinctions;  because, 
if  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  be  indeed  the  great  object 
and  centre  of  the  Christian's  affection,  the  church  must  also 
draw  out  his  most  ardent  love  and  intense  interest,  no  matter 
by  what  name  it  may  be  known.  As  we  stand  to-day  on  the 
dividing  line  between  the  past  and  the  future,  what  memories 
crowd  upon  the  mind;  the  comparatively  little  we  have  heard 
of  the  achievements  of  the  past  thrills  us  and  fills  us  with 
admiration  for  those  noble  and  heroic  men  who  have  gone  be- 
fore us;  how  forcibly  they  appeal  to  us,  and  were  it  possible 
to  have  presented  to  us  even  in  part,  their  sufferings,  their 
self-denial,  their  sj^irit  of  consecration  and  devotion  in  their 
Master's  service,  it  would  be  an  incentive  to  us  to  greater 
activity  and  more  earnest  effort  in  carrying  on  the  work  they 
so  nobly  commenced  a  century  ago.  That  they  suffered  much 
and  were  devoted  men  we  cannot  doubt,  for  the  records  abund- 
antly testify.  There  is  one  feature  of  their  work  that  is  spec- 
ially worthy  of  notice.    They  laid  foundations  deeper  and  wider 


38 

than  they  conceived;  and  is  it  not  ever  so  with  God's  children? 
Every  effort  sincerely  made  in  the  Master's  name,  every  sacri- 
fice for  the  furtherance  of  His  kingdom,  no  matter  how  feeble 
and  small  in  the  incejotion,  will  assuredly  be  followed  by  His 
blessing,  and  be  productive  of  far  greater  results  than  the 
most  sanguine  could  possibly  anticipate;  indeed,  it  is  one  of 
the  grandest  characteristics  of  our  Divine  Sovereign,  be  it 
reverently  said,  that  He  specially  selects  the  humblest  means, 
and  apparently  the  most  unattractive  agencies  through  which 
to  display  the  most  signal  evidences  of  His  favor.  In  grace 
as  well  as  in  nature  and  providence  the  beginnings  are  often 
small  indeed,  even  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  but  who  can 
determine  the  possibilities  of  such  beginnings?  The  Psalmist 
recognized  this  when  he  said,  "  Out  of  the  mouths  of  babes 
and  sucklings  hast  thou  ordained  strength." 

In  the  fourth  chapter  of  Zechariah  the  prophet  recounts 
his  interview  with  the  angel  who  was  designated  to  communi- 
cate with  him  in  respect  to  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple 
by  Zerubbabel.  In  the  figure  of  a  golden  candlestick  with  a 
bowl  upon  the  top  of  it  and  seven  lamps  thereon,  and  two 
olive  trees  by  it,  one  on  either  side,  distilling  the  oil  into  the 
bowl  to  feed  the  lamps,  the  prophet  is  represented  as  being 
taught  by  questions  and  answers,  that  notwithstanding  the 
skill,  energy  and  persevering  efforts  of  Zerubbabel  and  the 
means  at  his  command,  the  great  work  he  had  commenced 
could  be  brought  to  a  successful  termination  only  by  the  aid 
of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  ''It  is  not  by  might  nor  by  power, 
but  by  my  Spirit  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts."  Zerubbabel  was 
thus  encouraged  not  to  trust  in  the  arm  of  flesh  but  in  the 
Spirit  of  Jehovah  hs  manifested  in  the  providential  ordering 
of  the  world;  and  this  important  lesson  should  be  forcibly 
brought  home  to  our  own  hearts  to-day. 

If  we  become,  as  we  really  should  be,  the  temples  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  success  of  this 
church  and  of  the  great  things  to  be  accomplished  by  it  in 
the  future;  no  obstacles,  however  great,  will  impede  your  on- 


^9 

ward  course.  Irresistibly  will  you  go  on  conquering  and  to 
conquer.  Can  you  for  a  moment  doubt  the  effect  of  your  united 
effort  if  every  member  of  this  church  were  possessed  with  the 
spirit  of  consecration  and  actuated  by  the  spirit  of  the  living 
God?  Would  you  not,  under  the  leadership  of  your  pastor, 
seeing  eye  to  eye  and  having  but  one  aim,  show  forth  the 
power  of  the  truth  so  that  this  whole  community  would  be 
transformed?  Your  own  souls  would  be  aglow  with  the 
warmth  of  His  love  and  its  benign  influence  will  be  extended 
to  all  with  whom  you  are  brouglit  in  contact. 

Even  the  humblest  and  the  most  despised  may  take  c  urage 
in  the  assurances  that  God  gives  us,  as  the  apostle  saith,  "God 
hath  chosen  the  fooli.sli  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the 
wise,  and  God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to 
confound  the  things  which  are  mighty."  If  therefore,  my 
brother,  you  deem  yourself  weak  and  devoid  of  influence  you 
little  know  what  God  designs  you  to  accomplish.  Seek  the 
aid  of  His  spirit  and  it  will  be  revealed  to  you;  and  in  the 
measure  in  which  you  realize  your  own  weakness  His  omni- 
potent strength  will  be  yours,  for  you  will  feel  as  the  great 
apostle  felt,  "  when  you  are  weak  then  are  you  strong."  We 
have  not  been  placed  here  by  chance.  Every  one  has  been 
assigned  his  and  her  place,  hence  the  duty  devolving  upon  us 
is  to  perform  here  the  work  specially  assigned  to  us  in  the 
sphere  in  which  we  are  placed.  There  is  a  tradition  in  connec- 
tion with  the  building  of  Solomon's  Temple  which  I  think 
forcibly  illustrates  this  truth.  It  will  be  remembered  that  all 
the  stones  were  specially  prepared  and  made  ready  before,  so 
that  there  was  no  sound  of  hammer  nor  ax  nor  any  tool  of 
iron  heard  in  the  house  while  it  was  in  building,  but  every  stone 
was  brought  and  fitted  in  its  place  noiselessly.  The  place  de- 
signed for  one  of  the  stones  thus  brought  could  not  be  discov- 
ered, every  effort  failed  to  determine  the  2)osition  for  which  it 
was  specially  designed,  and  finally  the  stone  was  rejected  and 
placed  among  the  rubbish  of  the  temple.  On  the  near  com- 
pletion  of  the  building   the  workmen  announced    that  one 


40 

stone  was  missing;  direction  was  given  to  make  diligent 
search  for  it,  but  it  could  not  be  found.  At  length  on  look- 
^'ng  through  the  rubbish  of  the  building  a  stone  was  seen  all 
covered  with  dirt,  and  ujjon  its  being  taken  out,  cleaned  and 
raised  to  the  vacant  place  it  was  found  to  be  the  missing 
stone,  desigTied  as  the  head  stone,  and  when  placed  in  position 
the  exultant  exclamation  went  forth,  "  The  stone  which  the 
builders  rejected  is  become  the  head  stone  of  the  corner." 

You  may  even  be  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  but  quietly 
and  patiently  wait  until  the  opiDortunity  occurs  and  your  place 
will  be  assigned.  If  you  are  indeed  the  Lord's,  He  has  his  eye 
upon  you.  In  view  therefore  of  the  great  and  signal  mercies 
we  have  experienced,  let  us  on  this  centennial  occasion  recon- . 
secrate  ourselves  to  His  service  and  do  our  part  in  making 
the  future  fruitful  of  even  greater  results  than  the  past  has 
been.  I  close  with  the  admonition  of  the  apostle,  "  I  beseech 
you,  therefore,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  .that  you 
present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable  with 
God,  which  is  your  reasonable  service." 


